D-day delay for Leeds; FOOTBALL.

UEFA'S decision on whether Galatasaray supporters will be allowed to travel to Elland Road next week has been delayed unril tomorrow afternoon at least.

Submissions have been received from Leeds, the FA and the relevant local and national security authorities, and Galatasaray will now be allowed a chance to respond and give their view.

Only after Galatasaray's report has been submitted will a verdict be made on whether the UEFA Cup semi-final second-leg tie will be switched to a neutral venue.

Leeds chairman Peter Ridsdale, however, hinted strongly that the Yorkshire club might pull out of the competition should the game be moved away from Elland Road.

A UEFA spokesman revealed: "We have to wait for Galatasaray's report before making a decision. But Mr Ridsdale's view will also be taken into consideration.

"It's how the UEFA Cup works. There is one away leg and one home leg. It will be taken into account."

Ridsdale revealed that several of his young players received death threats in their hotel bedrooms in the hours after Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight had been murdered in Istanbul.

Despite Leeds asking for no calls to be put through to the rooms, the players picked up the telephones to be confronted with abuse and sick threats to kill them. "The team were in no fit mental state to play the first tie," he said.

"They were understandably shaken up by, among other things, receiving death threat phone-calls to their rooms in the early hours of the morning even though we had asked for no calls to be put through.

"Normally you can laugh that sort of thing off but on this occasion it was anything but funny."